Take to the Wind
by DragonGem777
Summary: Merlin's been captured by a sorcerer bent on twisting Merlin's magic to his own dark purpose, but with the help of an unknown ally, he manages to escape...but not without obtaining a unique curse...or is it a gift? NO SLASH!  Different summary inside
1. Little Big Magic

**Disclaimer: Yep... I totally own Merlin I'm sitting here with Colin Morgan right now!...not really...I'm not sure it would be a good think if i did own Merlin...hmmm**

**A/N**

***Clears throat.* Ehem, Children! I have an announcement to make!**

***Crowd continues to ignore me.***

**...Uh...okay I'll just say that this is indeed, my first multific!**

***Some people turn to listen***

***Laughs evilly now that she has there attention* YES! This is a glorious day...yeah...so pretty much this is gonna be pretty much a really awesome/weird/kinda AU kinda story. I think people will like it though! Hopefully you will enjoy it! Okay, well enough of my blabbing, enjoy the story!**

**Just a little warning, I'm not entirely sure where this is going, so if it does change, when i actually figure out what the actual plot is, I'll post a new summary on the next chapter that i'll update YUP, enjoy!**

**Oh and the beginning may be a bit silly, but believe me, this guy has a MAJOR roll in this story, and a big background and why the way that he is so yeah, totally not a comedy story so give it a chance! :D**

**Summary: Merlin's been captured by a group of sorcerers, but he escapes...except...he didn't...something's wrong. What had the leader done to him before he finally got away? The beast that had always been lurking inside him is finally being called upon...and it's not by Merlin's doing. AUish Merlin!Whump**

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><p><em>Basil, basil, basil...<em>Merlin's mind kept repeating to himself as he searched along the forest floor for the herb that Gaius had asked of him.

_Silky, light green, shiny leaves,.. silky, light green, shiny leaves..._

His blue eyes scanned the brown and green of the ground in search of the plant that matched the description that was running through his head.

It was a nice day, Merlin decided. The early morning sun was warm against his back and the air wasn't too hot or cold. It was crisp and fresh and settled nicely on his skin. The scent of pine wafted strongly through the air and really heightened his his senses. Merlin decided that that too, was a good thing since he had gotten up even before the sun had risen and his mind still wasn't fully awake.

Gaius had stormed into his room the night before, demanding to know the reason why Merlin had forgotten collect the herbs that he had said to retrieve that day. It had taken all of the young warlock's self control not to throw a fit right then and there. He had been worked to the bear minimum that day, in fact, this entire MONTH had been filled with utter chaos and Merlin was absolutely positive it would drive him mad.

Its not that it was hard work, its just the fact that he was CONSTANTLY working to stop it-the sorcerer.

These passed few weeks Merlin had been using his spare time foiling the absolute HORRID plans of a...very confused and not too bright of a sorcerer. It seemed like every hour was filled with the sorcerer trying to penetrate the castle walls and somehow get Arthur killed.

They never worked.

They were pretty horrible plans, and they usually involved a failed spell (mostly due to Merlin's quick thinking and predictable abilities) and then the sorcerer-almost-being captured. For some reason he always managed to escape before the guards could snatch him.

Oh well, he'd never succeed anyway. Merlin decided that even without him constantly keeping a watch on Arthur that the sorcerer would never actually achieve his goal.

Arthur was a bit too witty to ever get himself caught up in one of his schemes...maybe. Or maybe they were both evenly matched.

Merlin snickered to himself at that thought and how true it probably was.

The black haired boy sighed when found himself focusing on a lush green plant that peeked up from the ground. He didn't even try to stifle the yawn as he knelt down to inspect the plant that seemed to be basil. Touching the leaves carefully, Merlin found it to have the texture that matched Gaius's description, then leaned a bit closer to smell it.

The minute the young warlock inhaled the aroma the strong, tangy scent immediately infiltrated his nose and nearly made him sneeze.

Yup, that was definitely basil.

With gentle hands, Merlin began to break the stem of the potent plant and gingerly place it the small bag he had carried with him.

_snap_

The young warlock's head immediately shot up and scanned his surroundings. The noise seemed to have come from the side of him a little distance away.

Quickly Merlin finished putting the basil in the pouch and very cautiously stood up and faced the direction from where the noise came from.

Cocking his head slightly, the curious warlock slowly began to make his way over to the place where the twig had snapped under a foot. As quietly as he could Merlin continued step by step over to where a very suspicious looking tree stood.

Magic started to bubble up inside him, ready to spring to his aid at any moment if he even gave the slightest inkling he was in danger.

Heart pounding, Merlin approached the tree and in one swift moment poked his head around and immediately tensed for what he saw.

Nothing.

Letting out a relieved sigh, the hyped up sorcerer mentally kicked himself.

_It could've just been a squirrel Merlin, calm down._He thought, but in the back of his head he knew it was better to be safe than sorry.

Shaking his head and deciding he had just overreacted, the blue eyed sorcerer turned around.

"YA!" Merlin yelped when he suddenly found himself face to face with the one and only:

Brutus. A very unfitting name for this man. He probably didn't have one _ounce_ of muscle on him, therefore not deserving the name meaning _Brute Strength._

The unexpected visitor sent Merlin flying backwards in surprise and he suddenly found himself flat on his back staring up and the sorcerer who had been causing all the mayhem in Camelot these days.

"Ugh..." Merlin couldn't help the groan that escaped between his parted lips as he let his head flop backwards. He did _not_have time for this joke of a sorcerer.

"AH HA!" The lame enchanter shouted. "So...it's just YOU and me now Emrys." The badly-named sorcerer taunted starting to walk towards Merlin.

The young warlock couldn't control the surprised expression he felt forming on his face when he called him by his druid name. Shaking it off, Merlin quickly stood up and faced his foe bravely...still a little annoyed.

"I see you're surprised that I know who you are, YES I DO know who you are, and that's why I called you Emrys!..." The chocolate haired man of about 30 years of age let his hands fly up to make a more dramatic appearance.

Merlin quirked an eyebrow and watched the lame performance in front of him.

When the sorcerer didn't get a satisfying response from the younger warlock in front of him he let his hands fall and stared hard at him.

"So..." He said after a few moments of awkward silence.

"Aren't you going to ask - WHO I AM!" He was clearly trying to intimidate Merlin, but he could obviously tell he was failing.

"No." Emrys said to the other man in front of him and leaned down to pick up the pouch he had dropped on the ground.

"NO! Do you have ANY idea who I AM or what I'm capable of?" The 30 year old man said trying to get some kind of frightened response out of the other sorcerer in front of him.

Merlin's head swiveled around and met the hard stare of the fail of a sorcerer in front of him.

"Well," The young warlock began. "I'm not actually sure WHO you are or what your ACTUAL name is (though he did), but I do know that you're the one whose been trying to get Arthur killed...and failed each time." Merlin let his eyes display true boredom but inside he was preparing for a quick and painless fight...for himself.

"Yes...but those have just been..._small attempts._ Each would have worked, but it seems a little _obstacle_ always seems to interfere with my plans..." The brown haired man eyed Merlin hatefully, and for some reason Merlin just _couldn't_feel threatened. Though he was wondering how the heck he knew he was Emrys...and how he knew that he was the one who kept of foiling his predictable plans.

Merlin rolled his eyes and once again mentally kicked himself. He was WAY underestimating his opponent. Who knows, maybe he was just _fiddling_around all the times he attempted to have Arthur assassinated.

Nope. It was no use, he couldn't take this guy seriously no matter how hard he was trying. Even the way he _looked_screamed joke. His messy balding brown hair was sticking out on all ends, and his chubby round face just couldn't mask the appearance of evil. He was a short plump man with sparkling green eyes and a very round body. The long maroon coloured robe he wore was a bit too long for him and the designs on it looked as if the forest and smeared itself all over his clothing.

Nope. None of it fit the definition of _bad_

Merlin knew something was amiss though, something very powerful was lurking around the man. It was a strong pull of magic and the first time he had confronted the lame sorcerer he knew he possessed very little magic. It didn't make sense that after only a week he somehow managed to strengthen it to almost Nimeuh's level of power.

As if thinking the same thoughts Merlin was, Brutus suddenly pulled out a chain, and on the end dangled something that made Merlin's magic begin to rush throughout his body so fast that he stumbled in response to his magic.

This did not go unnoticed by Brutus and the man let a fail evil smile stretch across his face. "Ah, yes. I see you noticed my amulet."

The stupid observation nearly went unnoticed as Merlin tried to control the heavy amount of magic that called out to the little orange pendant that dangled on the end of the golden chain. It was so powerful that it was almost the only thing he could focus on.

_How did he get a hold of something like THAT!_Merlin barely managed to think to himself as his foot took an unwanted step forward.

The cocky sorcerer in front of him smirked as he watched Merlin helplessly try to control his magic.

"Yes, this is the amulet of Ddragoon, the Great!"

Merlin stopped. Even the rush of magic seemed to pause as that statement sunk in. Completely against his will, the young warlock began to laugh.

_That has to be coincidence!_Merlin thought to himself as he tried to control the chuckling that kept escaping through his parted lips. The flash back of when he had used the aging spell to save Gwen's life came back in a large rush and only made him laugh harder when he thought about the name that he had randomly come up with to use for his disguise.

Merlin then decided that it actually wasn't _that_funny, but the thought of the situation he was caught in at the moment and the passed events involving the fail sorcerer just encouraged another round of his sweet laughter.

Brutus was desperately trying to think of ANY reason of why this was amusing to the very powerful sorcerer in front of him. It was almost starting to scare him a bit and he actually considered abandoning this idea and returning back home with another failed attempt to take over Camelot.

He didn't though and he waited a bit impatiently for the younger warlock to control his laughing fit.

Once he finally took control of his laughter Merlin looked up and wiped his away the tears of laughter that were starting to form under his eyes. The young warlock greedily sucked in the oxygen that his body craved and finally managed to look Brutus in the eye without laughing...somewhat.

He just couldn't take this situation seriously. Brutus was not even a SLIGHT match for him, and yet he was trying to threaten him...In a way, Merlin felt almost a little egotistical at that moment. However, he checked that immediately and tried to concentrate on how he was going to get out of this inconvenient mess.

The expression on Brutus's face still hadn't changed from it's very confused and a bit scared look, and it took all of Merlin's self control not to laugh or even smile at how pathetic and funny it looked.

The amulet was still dangling from Brutus's unmoving hand so thankfully and unthankfully it offered a bit of a distraction for Merlin. Not that he had any choice.

Shaking his head and the expression from his face, Brutus continued the rant he was going on before Merlin had started to laugh.

"As I was saying...this Amulet is from...well never mind that, but it is the Echdynnu Amulet." The weak sorcerer said with malicious tone.

Merlin's face paled. _No. How is it possible he got a hold of that! That amulet has the power of-_

"Magic manipulation." Brutus said confirming and finishing Merlin's thoughts. " Extract, weaken, or even increase magic's power.." Brutus said looking at it longingly. He shook his head and continued is monologue. "And now that I have it, there's NOTHING you can do to stop my newest plan to kill Arthur."

Brutus then attempted an evil laugh.

Fail.

He ended up coughing right in the middle of his laughter and that's exactly what Merlin had been counting on...sort of. Taking his chance, the young warlock lunged with incredible speed toward the amulet that was dangling from the sorcerers hand. Merlin supposed the desperation to get his hands around the amulet was what increased his speed and agility.

Just before Merlin closed his hands around the object though, he noticed that Brutus hadn't even _attempted_to block Merlin from getting the pendant.

A little too late, Merlin found out that grabbing the amulet was exactly what Brutus had been counting on.

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><p><strong>OOOOOKAY! so yes! A little cliffy! I'm sure you just love me already!...uhhh ish haha. I'll be updating about once a week and if schools really bad, about a week and a half. Usually on Friday nights is when a new chapta shall be up!<strong>

**Review pleasssee! *Puppy dog eyes* Cyber candy for everyone who does!**

**So I hope you enjoyed the first chapter!**

**DragonGem777**


	2. Just as Planned

**A/N**

**HA! okay soo here's the second chapter, which is a bit more serious and gives a bit more of the plot of which i haven't entirely figured out yet!...uh...yeah...I didn't say that...okay well enjoy once again!**

The only thing that Brutus could think of at that moment was that something had gone HORRIBLY wrong.

It was only after the scream had died down on the young warlock's lips that the other sorcerer preasant could muster up a measly amount of courage to actually breathe again.

Everything within a 15 foot radius of Emrys was completely gone - blown away. Bare dirt ground formed a perfect around the still figure that laid in the middle. All leaves, sticks, or any debris that had been there before were either scattered 50 feet away, or had been shot through the surrounding trees.

This included Brutus. The minute Emrys touched the Amulet...it was like some giant had drop kicked him and sent him careening into a conveniently placed tree - nearly knocking him out.

The plump man shook his head and tried to clear the blurriness that obscured his vision. Slowly, it began to decrease and he could slightly make out the unmoving figure of the warlock that had nearly killed him without meaning to.

Brutus struggled to his feet and steadied himself against the tree when he swayed.

That was definitley NOT supposed to happen.

Very tentatively, Brutus took a small step towards the unmoving figure on the ground. The scene that had played out moments before completely contradicted what he was seeing now. The boy he saw now was motionless and silent. Whereas before...

Brutus couldn't stop thinking how _wrong this was._The plan was simple and very effective. Emrys would be drawn to the amulet, (though he had never seen its effect so strong on any other sorcerer he'd seen it work on) then he would have Emrys touch it, then Emrys's magic would be restrained for the time being, then Brutus would overcome him with a simple spell that not even he could mess up and would allow him to, without any difficulty, bring Emrys back to the renegade camp unharmed, and of course, alive. It did not go that way at all.

As the cowardly sorcerer made his way over to the motionless figure on the hard forest floor, he couldn't help but think what would happen if he stepped over to him...and he found him...dead.

IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN THAT WAY!

Emrys had been drawn to the amulet as planned, and as planned, had touch it. That's when everything had shifted...just a bit. He grabbed it and - Brutus knew he'd never forget the terror that he felt. It was like watching someone have their sould torn out of them. The second the boy had his hands around the object all hell broke loose. Something in the earth shifted it felt like, and it was obvious that the magic inside Emrys was WAY too powerful for this charm. Everything had just exploded around him- literally and the scream that tore out of the mighty warlock seemed to shatter the sound barriers.

The almighty warlock, which all of the legends had spoken of, prophesized, and which every good sorcerer had studied, was _defeated_by a little charm that hung on a little chain. Though as weak as he was in magic, Brutus could still feel the shudder between the magic barriors when the amulet had come in contact with Emrys.

He had exptected it to weaken him of course, but not..._kill_ him.

Brutus slowly, putting as much distance between him and the motionless boy, made his way over to where the Amulet had been blasted out of Emrys's hand about six feet away from him. It seemed that the gritty sound of the frightened sorcerer's footsteps against the bare dirt ground were the only audible thing echoing through the forest. The birds had scattered in terror, and Brutus was sure every living creature within a 10 mile radius had run for their lives once Emrys had touched the Amulet.

Very careful not to touch the charm, Brutus knelt down and picked it up by the chain and stuffed it away safely in his cloak pocket. Taking a shaky breath, the bald man stood up and looked over to where Merlin lay on the dirt ground. He slowly began to make his way towards the still warlock. Once he reached him, he stood over him for just a moment wondering if he should completely abandon this idea and never return to the renegade camp. He finally decided that he should at least see if he was alive, and he knelt down and grabbed his arm to feel for a pulse. However, when he did, his cloak fell forwards and immediately when it touched his shoulder, the boy's hand twitched and his face, which had taken on a peaceful appearance, twisted into a mask of pain. A low groan escaped his throat and Brutus immediately dropped his arm and scrambled away from the young sorcerer.

Brutus then decided that Emrys was definitley alive.

Letting out a relieved and frightened sigh, the sorcerer took a moment to process what was happening. Emrys was alive, so he knew his master would be pleased with him. And he looked unharmed...just asleep.

Brutus let a small smile then creep up his face.

He had DONE it. HE had defeated Emrys, made him fall. HE had made Emrys fall to the ground in front of him, motionless at HIS feet. There were only a few steps left until Camelot would be his though, and each one would take patience and hard work.

Still smiling, the plump man happily stood up and strutted back towards the unconscious warlock. He took a moment to soak in the victory then he recited a spell which in a few moments, had his paint horse unwillingly trotting over to him.

Like he had been taught by his master, Brutus recited one of the most simplest spells, and then Emrys was on his horse, bound, and gagged. Completely helpless and at his mercy.

Saddling his horse (almost toppling it over) Brutus left the - victorious scene behind him.

He couldn't wait to show his master the prize he had brought back - like he said he would.

Just as planned.

**SOOOOo what'dya think? kinda epic and ummmm a slight cliffy!**

**We figure out that there's no way Brutus could have been that smart to get that kind of Amulet...so the question is...has the leader been using Brutus? Was all of Brutus's plans actually planned by the leader? Who is the leader? What are they planning on doing with Merlin! And why am I asking you this?**

***Shifty eyes look around akwardly***

**Uhm... *coughs* so yeah! Next chapter we get to check up on Arthur and see how our heroic prince is doing!**

**Reviews are VERY WELCOME!**

**DragonGem777**


	3. Troubles Are Afoot

**A/N**

**Okay, we'll I'm SO sorry for the delay…So I'm combing what was going to be two chapters! Hope you don't kill me! Haha alright enjoy! **

Arthur was a prince.

Arthur had a lot of responsibility.

Arthur had things to do, places to go, and people to see.

Arthur needed to do these things to fulfill his duty as prince.

And Arthur needed his damn manservant to wake him up on time to accomplish these things.

So as of right now said prince was angrily throwing on his clothes and cussing under his breath.

"I'll kill him, I will KILL him!" The blond fumed and quickly fastened his leather boots which still needed to be polished.

Suddenly, a knock at the door nearly made him yelp with surprise.

Oh, NOW he gets here...that lazy dolt. Arthur thought angrily and straightened up and walked towards the door.

Just as he was about to scream at the person behind the door to get his ass in there, he suddenly thought of something.

Wait...Merlin doesn't knock...ESPECIALLY when he was late...

Frowning, Arthur stared at the door for a bit then finally said in a stiff voice: "Enter."

And a bit to his surprise, not-Merlin walked through his door with a tray full of food.

"Sire," The servant addressed bowing his head. "The cook informed me that your servant hadn't brought your breakfast this morning so she sent me to take it to you, Sire."

The servant waited until Arthur gave him the signal that it was okay to enter, then swiftly walked over to his table where he set the tray down along with a pitcher of water.

Bowing again, the brown haired boy straightened up and like all good servants asked: "Will there be anything else sire?"

The young prince stared for just a few more seconds thinking about where Merlin might have gone, then shook his head at the perfect servant.

"No, thank you. You're dismissed." He said at last and waved his hand.

"Sire." The boy said one more time the exited the room.

The young Pendragon frowned and shook his head again before staring at the food that was rapidly becoming room temperature.

That lazy oaf...a good day in the stocks should teach him not to be late... The Pendragon thought even though he knew he wouldn't do it.

Quenching the tad bit of worry that he always seemed to acquire when the words 'Merlin, gone, missing, or fight' popped up, he walked over to where a nice steaming hot breakfast awaited him.

He was going to give Merlin a very hard time when he saw him next...which was indeed going to be in the very near future.

...If only words had the power of action.

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><p>Gaius decided that if people didn't start knocking, he was indeed going to use Merlin's idea and post a sign outside his door that read:<p>

KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING: NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCE!

Gaius was happily working away at another one of Uther's tonics to help relieve the pain in his shoulder, wondering where Merlin could be with that herb that he needed, then suddenly the prince of Camelot comes BARGING into his room. Nearly giving the old physician a heart attack.

The sudden noise startled the old man so that his heart gave an unpleasant jump and all alarm systems to quickly set off in his mind. Gaius quickly turned to stare at the intruder, and after a second of determining that there was no immediate danger, he settled on giving the prince of Camelot a blank stare even though he was quite annoyed.

"Ah Gauis," The young man began.

"What can I do for you sire?" The old physician said blandly turning back to his work.

"I'm here to get Merlin." Arthur stated with a bit of irritation playing on his tongue. Before waiting for the other man's response, Arthur stomped down the steps and marched straight over to Merlin's room and slammed the door to his bedroom wide open.

"Sire, Merlin isn't here." Gaius said with a tad of worry as he leaned back in his chair to view the performance.

By the time the old man had said this Arthur had already scanned the room and concluded that by the lack-of-Merlin in his messy room, that his servant, was indeed, not there.

Glancing around one last time, just for the humor of it, Arthur turned back to Gaius and closed the door.

Arthur stepped down from the few steps and marched over to the other side of the room and turned to

Gaius. "Then where is he? He didn't wake me up this morning and I had to have another servant bring me my breakfast, and now because of that idiot, I'm going to be late to training with my knights!"

The blond prince angrily threw up his hands in the air and once again tried to squash the bit of worry that seemed to come as an extra bonus with his manservant.

"I thought Merlin was with you sire." The physician stated staring hard at the prince.

Arthur frowned at stared back. "I haven't seen him at all today Gaius."

"This morning he set out to gather an herb for me, I thought he returned, but went straight to work."

The old man's gaze shifted downwards and the worry in his eyes was evident.

They both knew this routine.

Considering that, they both knew what Arthur was going to say next was going to be completely different from what he was going to do next.

"Well, when that dolt comes back, send him to my chambers immediately." The young man shook his head and turned away and tried not to let the same worry he saw in Gaius's eyes reflect in his.

"Of course sire..." The physician trailed off as he watched the other man close the door behind him.

Something didn't feel right, and Gaius definitely knew that he wasn't the only one who felt that way.

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><p><em>Emrys...<em>

_Emrys..._

_Emrys..._

The first thing that Merlin was aware of when he found the little strength he had to bring himself out of unconsciousness, was the fact that every single part of him felt like it had been worn down to the bear minimum and that he hurt...ALL over.

What...what had happened? Something seemed to be blocking out necessary information...he couldn't seem to grasp it. Everything was much too out of focus for him to even TRY to remember what had happened, so the young warlock decided he better try and at least find out if he could move.

At first when the young man tried to open his eyes, he immediately shut them again. A burning light, which he then assumed was fire, was too bright for him to handle at first. But after a few more moments, he tried again and this time managed to keep them open.

It took a little bit for his eyes to focus and clear the blurriness out of his vision, but he eventually got there and was genuinely confused at what he saw.

The first thing that appeared in his vision was the black of night and leaves...lots of leaves. Which left him with the conclusion that he was lying on the ground.

Deciding that he should probably try to get UP from the hard ground, the second thing the warlock realized was that his hands and feet were bound. In fact, they were bound so tightly he could hardly feel them anymore.

Great. He thought as he wiggled his numb fingers.

Even if he had wanted to, the warlock figured that he probably wouldn't even have been able to sit up from the ground. He was so weak that he was even having a hell of a time keeping his eyes open and his mind alert.

Which was why the thought of magic didn't enter his mind until this moment.

The minute the word magic entered his thoughts though, it seemed as if his whole body went numb and his mind tried to push him back under.

He fought it however, but was more than surprised by the reaction that his body had given.

Something wasn't right...

Try, try as he might, Merlin simply could not focus on his situation. He couldn't grasp the little thoughts that were floating around in his mind and it seemed every time he tried, they would scuttle away and become but small fragments.

It was rather irritating.

Sucking in a deep breath, the young warlock slowly turned his head so that he could view a bit more of his surrounding environment.

Apparently that movement had alerted someone else in the campsite.

Merlin watched, mind bleary, as the figure's head snapped towards him.

He could hardly make out the figure, his eyes simply refused to focus.

He did notice that the man, he assumed, got up and was making his way over to him.

"You're a fighter Emrys. This is the third time I've had to do this." The man said as he quickly approached him,

The words almost seemed to meld together, and Merlin could hardly make them out. He refused to let his mind drag him under.

He HAD to stay awake...his memories...memories were returning. Slowly, but they were! He remembered...a shiny object...then pain...LOTS of pain.

Merlin tried to suppress a groan as he failed to find it within himself to cast a spell...

"Oh, no. You've done that once, you're not doing it again." The figure above him spoke and Merlin could feel a mysterious loathing for the man flow into him.

He was nearly on the brink of remembering a simple spell when suddenly, something was pushed up against his face so that his nose and mouth were completely masked by a white cloth.

The minute the warlock breathed in, a sickly sweet scent washed through him and he felt his mind begin to succumb to an overwhelming amount of drowsiness. He tried to fight the drug, but his eyelids just refused to stay open, and soon enough he finally gave in to the dark world of unconsciousness.

_...Emrys_

**So what did you think? We're getting INNTTOOO IITTTT whose calling Merlin's name? okay so next part is gonna have more Arthur and knights! And Merlin and such :D alright cool so thanks for reading! **

**PLEASE REVIEW! It means a ton to me! **

**DragonGem777**


	4. Shackles and Blood Stains

**A/N**

**Me: *Takes coffee after pouring herself a cup and walks upstairs to her room where her computer waits. **

**Types in email address. **

**Looks at emails she's received from fanfiction...***

**"...HOLY MOTHER OF PEARL!" *So surprised that she falls backwards in her chair.**

**Quickly scrambles up without even bother to fix her chair or clean spilled coffee off her, grips desk with finger tips and peaks wide eyed at the screen.***

**"What is this! **_**60**_** reviews, alerts and favorites! ALL IN ONE CHAPTER! HOLY MOSES!" *Faints.***

**Yeah! That's right! You guys are amazing! HOLY CRAPOLA! **_**60!**_** IN **_**ONE**_** CHAPTER? That's INCREDIBLE! Thanks SO MUCH GUYS! I honestly couldn't believe it! I went to my email and I was like, I have three times the amount of the reviews I've gotten from the first two chapters combined, and then the story alerts and favorites I could barely count! WOW thanks SO MUCH! I didn't know this was gonna be liked so much! So that pretty much just made my day! :D**

**Oh and once again I'm sorry for the late update...I'm going to say this now, Ummm since everything is really crazy over the weekend, I'm gonna say OVER the weekend I will update. I'm not gonna say what day, just that it'll be done over the weekend. So yeah...**

**Haha! Alright here ya go! Chapter 4! Hope you enjoy!**

_He was lying down in pure gold. All he could see was gold...gold with pure red strands entwined into it. It was so beautiful, so peaceful. He felt warm and comfortable. But something was wrong, he knew this couldn't be reality...reality didn't feel this way. It was too perfect. _

_As he stared up into the pure gold sky, he suddenly felt a presence enter his serenity, he didn't turn however, all he wanted was to stay where he was and never move...reality was too painful..._

Emrys..._ The voice that had entered his presence spoke softly. _

_The voice was calm but firm. _

Emrys...you must awaken, I cannot keep you here...you must fight. You must fight your way out...

_Merlin found that try as he might he could not resist the urge to look at the one who spoke his name. He turned his head slowly, and gazed upon a bright figure of a woman...but all he could see was the glowing teal-green of her eyes and the way her hair that matched the sky billowed around her shoulders. _

Awaken Emrys...I will find you soon, but you must fight. You must fight Emrys...You must fight...

_And with those last words, the image of his perfect world slowly faded out into the harsh world of reality._

Merlin's eyes slowly cracked open to take in the view of a very gray, stony ceiling above him. The air was thick with dust when he sucked in a breath, and he found himself shaking a bit from the cold.

What had happened? He felt that he was asking himself that way too much these days, but he really needed an answer.

Why was he so cold and _weak_? Why was everything slightly blurred to him? And _why_ could he not seem to remember how to use the magic he felt stirring inside of him! It was beyond frightening to think that he'd lost the knowledge of how to access his magic...he'd have been more worried if he hadn't been so confused in the first place however.

He decided that he should probably move around a bit before he froze to death or his mind made him go mad with the amount of questions swirling around in him.

That was proving quite difficult considering the fact that he was so weak that he could barely move his fingers.

What was happening? He tried to dig into his memories...but they proved just too out of reach for him to grasp, even the most recent ones...just like his magic

He had a strange feeling that he'd been through this before, maybe even several times.

The young warlock slowly turned his head to see if he could make out exactly where he was. The answer came almost immediately when he saw the cell bars in front of him.

Perfect.

As the realization of where he was slowly sunk in, the warlock began to feel a bit of strength return to him as the adrenaline began to kick in.

He eventually came to the decision that he needed to find out EXACTLY where he was, who had...captured him, and how to get back home.

Slowly, and a bit shakily the warlock managed to sit himself up. The dank smell of hay seemed to increase as his head rose to the level where he could finally make out his surroundings.

He was definitely in a cell. He'd been in PLENTY of these to know what he was in, and he also knew that he was not in Camelot. Camelot didn't have blood stains in any of their cells walls.

Some parts of the walls had shackles hanging loosely from them...and right next to them were dark splotches which he could only assess were blood stains. He could only assume that this castle- or whatever it was - didn't have a torture room and this must have been where they extracted information from prisoners.

The thought made him shiver and he immediately looked away.

Merlin tried once again to reach for the magic, but it seemed that it was sleeping, and refused to respond to his command.

That had never happened before, and it scared the warlock more than he would ever car to admit.

Trying to squash the immense amount of panic rising up within himself, Merlin gradually found the strength to get to his feet and stay there. It was difficult, but he managed to do it. He also found in that moment that his hands were shackled. Long chains lead up to the wall where they were firmly bolted in. He had a few feet to move around but that was it.

The accomplishment of standing however also brought another benefit. As his strength returned to him, so did his memories. The memories seemed to begin to swirl back together, into one whole piece again. Most of it was still blurry, but he could make out bits and pieces about what had happened.

The only thing that was still troubling him however, was the fact that his magic wasn't replenishing as his strength and memories were. It still laid deep within him, too weak to approach the surface where it usually waited. This once again brought back the panic that the warlock tried to contain, but he refused to let himself be overcome by it.

He had to find a way out...

With that thought firmly planted in his head, the warlock couldn't seem to stop himself from thinking of the dream he'd woken up from.

He swore he had heard her voice before…somewhere but…It had been just a dream...hadn't it?

Merlin would find out very soon what the answer was.

**Me: SO WHAT DID YOU THINK! Yeah, I know kinda..uh okay REALLY short, BUT I feel that I've been skimping lately and so I've decided to TRY and believe me when I say TRY, to post another chapter sometime during the week. (don't always take my word for it though…cuz I'm a filthy rotten liar sometimes…) **

**So do like where I'm heading with this story oh fans of mine?**

**Random person from behind screen: Hey! **_**You**_** hardly know where the story's going!**

***Random brick flies out of nowhere and hits random person in the head, knocking him out cold." **

**Me: *Shifty eyes and hides another brick behind back***

***coughs* Ehem…He did NOT just say that guys…PSH! Actually he's just late in my latest updates. I do, in fact, KNOW what I'm going to do, and this isn't even a joke. I've got it all planned out!**

***Random Applause***

***Bows* Me: Yes thank you! I do! I even have an outline on my computer so WONDERFUL Yes? Haha alright thanks for reading guys! Hope you enjoyed and of course- **

**REVIEW! :D**

**DragonGem777**


	5. Southern Routes

**A/N**

**Yeah, this story is officially FAMOUS! At least as far as I'm concerned ;P Yeah TONS of favorites and story alerts, I can't even count, and I know there's LOTS of people out there who are reading my story but only a few review :'( SAD! Oh well, I still hope you like it :P lol! **

**So, as promised, here's the chapter I said I'd post during the week. So, OUA LA! Enjoy mes amis! :P**

Arthur rubbed his throbbing arm as he headed down the hallway that led to his room. Training with the knights had been especially horrid today mostly due to the fact that the Prince kept thinking about how he was going to punish the poor excuse for a servant when he saw him. He was definitely not thinking about the other possibilities of where his servant could be…nope definitely not. He was also not thinking that he should join the patrol of knights that were to set out this afternoon to scour Camelot's grounds, and he was definitely NOT worried that his servant hadn't showed up at all yesterday and that the prince hadn't seen his servant at all today.

That was bogus and Arthur knew it.

In fact, he was indeed a bit -okay maybe more than a bit- worried about the disappearance of his servant, and the knights –Gwaine- CONSTANT jabbering about what he'd done to him.

"Hey, princess!" The black haired knight had said as he trotted to the blond prince just before they were to train together.

Arthur didn't even bother to turn from his difficult task of strapping his gauntlet to his arm.

THIS is what servants are for.

That only made Arthur even twitchier as that statement passed through his mind.

"Are you ready to get beaten AGAIN Arthur?" The bold knight said with a smirk playing on his lips as he began to twirl his sword.

"Gwaine, you've never ONCE beaten me in a swordfight." The prince clarified as he once again lost his grip on the string he was supposed to attach to the other side of the gauntlet.

"Yes I have! But you don't remember, you'd practically gone mad with how much you'd drunk that night." Gwaine laughed as he twirled his sword in his hand.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur demanded glaring up from where gaze had been.

"Oh, nothing, nothing…" The cocky man said turning away to avert his gaze from the prince's cold one.

"Gwaine, I swear I will-"

"-Look Arthur, I didn't come to argue with you, I actually came because I'd like to know where Merlin is." The knight said turning back with a more serious look to his face.

That statement sent the Prince back into his spiraling thoughts about his missing servant.

When Arthur looked away the knight immediately assumed the worst.

"Did he and you have a bit of a quarrel?" He said with a small bit of concern. "Am I going to have to beat you into the ground again until you apologize?" The loyal friend said with a joking tone, but Arthur could tell he really wanted the truth.

Arthur let a small smile play on his lips at the snarky comment.

"No…nothing like that, I actually haven't seen Merlin all day yesterday or today."

Gwaine stopped mid sword-twirl to slowly turn and stare at the prince.

"…And you don't think that's a bit odd?" He asked adopting a suspicious look.

"I think...that we should finish training and then we can talk about my manservant." The prince said in a very finished tone, surprising himself and Gwaine.

Talking about his servant was making him unreasonably angry and anxious; he needed something to distract himself.

The "my manservant" that Arthur had finished with made Gwaine's expression turn into a spiteful one.

"Arthur, you, me and everyone else knows that Merlin isn't just your manservant." He said with a light touch of anger in his voice.

"He's your friend and you're concerned."

Arthur looked away and FINALLY finished strapping his gauntlet. Sniffing, Arthur hauled up his sword and turned to face the knight.

"We should-"

Before he could speak, the loyal knight did first.

"Where did he go? Do you know?"

"Gwaine we can talk later-"

"Arthur, Where. Is. He." Gwaine demanded.

Arthur sighed knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere with Gwaine unless he answered him.

"Gaius said that Merlin had gone to collect some herbs the morning before and that he hasn't been seen since." The prince said at last and looked away. He didn't know why, but he felt REALLY guilty…maybe it was the fact that he hadn't done anything the day before…he'd just kind of assumed Merlin would've returned by now.

Gwaine's eyebrows rose in surprise and before Arthur knew it, Gwaine had sheathed his sword and turned his back on him and the sunny training field and marched away without another word.

"Gwaine!" Arthur called, but that was all. He let the knight go knowing that he couldn't stop him…it bothered him as he reconsidered where his knight's loyalties really lied…were they with him…or Merlin?

And after that the endless questions of why Gwaine had stormed off and where Merlin was aroused all during training and Arthur could hardly concentrate –hence the painful throbbing in his arm where Percival had nailed him a good one.

When Arthur reached his room he nearly shouted for Merlin when he remembered that his servant was gone.

"Great…" He sighed then began to strip off his armor by himself.

A light knock at his door made the prince stop just before he attempted to remove his chest plate.

"Enter." He said and grimaced as he pulled off his armor that protected his sore arm.

To his absolute delight, a beautiful maidservant entered his room.

"Guinevere!" He beamed and stood up immediately.

He winced as he helped himself up onto his feet and rubbed his arm again.

"Hello, my lord." She said sweetly then her expression changed when she noticed the pain that flashed across his face as he pushed himself up.

"Are you hurt?" She said walking into the room a little further.

Arthur's smile dropped a bit and glanced down at his injured arm.

"Ah, it's nothing; Percival's got quite a strong arm." He smiled then sat down again.

"Arthur…" Gwen said as she swiftly entered the room and leaned down to inspect his arm.

The prince let her gentle fingers roll up the sleeves on his shirt and inspect the enormous bruise that was beginning to form on his arm.

She clucked disapprovingly and let his sleeve fall down on his arm again.

"You should let Gauis look at that." She said concern leaking into her voice.

"Nah, I'll be fine." He said smiling his most charming smile.

The beautiful girl blushed and looked away letting a smile play on her lips.

"Was there something you needed Guinevere?" He asked after a few moments and barely restrained his hand from taking hers.

"Oh- uh, no, Gwaine just wanted me to tell you that he's gone to look for Merlin."

At that her eyes narrowed and she glanced down at him.

"Arthur, why's Gwaine gone to search for Merlin? What happened?" She questioned gazing down at him with her beautiful brown eyes.

If only people would just leave him alone for one second! Though this matter really did need to be resolved…

"It's nothing to worry about…" He said knowing that he and Gwen were both not fooled.

Gwen cocked her head and gazed suspiciously at him.

"Arthur what's going on?" She nearly demanded.

Arthur's head immediately snapped up at the strict tone of her voice.

"Nothing Guinevere…Merlin's just- left for a little bit and no one can seem to find him."

That ended up sounding a lot worse than he intended it to be.

Gwen's eyes widened then narrowed.

"Are you going to look for him then?"

"Yes, this afternoon I'll join the knights on their patrol." He said. That suddenly made him feel a lot better, mostly due to the fact that he was going to do something about Merlin's disappearance, and the fact that Gwen's face lightened up when he said that.

"Good." She said smiling, though Arthur could still see a bit of concern written on her face.

He smiled back at her and before she could even blink, the prince leaned over and gave her a long, perfect kiss.

If only this innocence could last forever.

BREAK

Arthur brushed a few strands of sweaty hair out of his face as he scanned the forest atop his chestnut steed.

The knights and the prince had been on one of the longest patrols they'd ever been on, it was nearly evening, but Arthur refused to stop the search party-uh-patrol of knights, until they'd found what he was looking for.

Several of the knights had gone back to Camelot, convinced they had served the purpose of their job. Arthur hadn't bothered to stop them, only the ones who knew the REAL intention of the patrol had stayed.

That included Lancelot, Elyan, Percival, Leon, Kay and- well – Gwaine, but he'd already gotten a fair head start.

Arthur had actually been surprised when Kay had refused to join the rest of the knights as they headed back to Camelot. Recently this knight had started to separate more from – what people had now come to call – 'Uther's knights' and had started to join 'Arthur's knights' more frequently on their hunting trips or patrols.

The knights still mixed and mingled, but for the most part, they usually separated into the two groups.

Though Kay would always be regarded as one of Uther's top knights, he frequently joined Arthur and his knights as they embarked on various quests.

Kay was one of the youngest knights in Camelot. He had barely turned 17 when he was knighted, and he was regarded as more of a joke at first, but later one, he was considered one of Camelot's finest.

That was mostly thanks to Arthur however, who had seen the potential in him even in his young age.

Three years had gone by since then, and ever since the joining of the 'Peasant knights' - as some of the more older knights had come to call them – Kay had found he had much more in common with them than he did with the knights who were years older than he was.

Arthur lifted his hand to wipe away the sweat that was dripping down his face. It was a hot and muggy summer day, and Arthur hardly believed that he hadn't passed out from the heat yet.

He desperately needed something to drink, but the knights that had left and taken the last of their water skins.

He was frustrated beyond belief, and it seemed as if they kept circling the same area over and over again.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, the prince continued to search the forest ground for any sign that his manservant had been there.

"Arthur," The prince turned to view the approaching knight.

Lancelot slowed his horse so that it walked at the same rate Arthur's was going then continued to talk.

"Arthur, we've searched this area for hours, I don't believe Merlin came this way."

The brotherly knight said voicing his opinion.

Arthur nodded then looked at Lancelot.

"Gaius said this was where Merlin would've come to collect the herb." He stated "Also, we can see Gwaine came this way." He said pointing to the fresh hoof prints littered on the ground.

"Yes, but sire, you can see that Gwaine retraced his steps many times," The black haired knight said pointing to the mess of tracks on the forest ground.

Arthur stared for a second, realizing how true his knight's words were.

He hadn't even considered that…the heat must be getting to his head.

Arthur squinted up at the sky and decided that they had about four more hours until the sun set.

"You're right Lancelot," The prince said at last then slowed his horse. "We should-"

"-ARTHUR!" An urgent shout of the blond man's name quickly made him and Lancelot whip their head's around to search for the man that called his name.

When he turned around, he found most of the knights already dismounted and approaching a very familiar man.

The prince quickly turned his horse, which snorted in response to his rough tug and cantered up to the group of knights that had already surrounded the missing knight.

"Gwaine!" Arthur shouted and quickly dismounted along with Lancelot who had followed closely behind.

Arthur quickly approached the knight that was only dressed in chainmail…odd that he chose not to wear his cape.

"Gwaine," He said again and clasped him on the shoulder in a friendly gesture.

"Princess," He said in response and smiled at the warm welcome.

"Where have you been? We've searched this area and had found no trace of you except a few confusing leads." Leon said speaking before Arthur had the chance to.

"Believe me, I would've returned sooner, but it took me a while to cross the river without drowning myself." He nodded to the others who smiled.

"You crossed the river?" Eyan suddenly spoke up and eyed him carefully.

It was only then that Arthur noticed that the knight was a bit damp, revealing the reason why his cape was gone.

Gwaine nodded and then his expression turned solemn.

"Merlin didn't enter from the north; he entered from the southern border..."

Arthur swore. Of COURSE he would enter from the South, how else would he have crossed the river?

Suddenly a thought came to him.

"You KNOW he came from the South?" Percival said putting words to Arthur's thoughts.

Gwaine slowly nodded his head then lifted up a bag he'd been carrying in his hand.

Quiet cursing and frustrated sighs rippled through the knights as they quickly assessed what who the bag belonged to.

"Merlin?" Arthur said keeping his voice strong.

Gwaine nodded and handed him the satchel.

Arthur took it and peeked inside. Sure enough, there were the herbs that Gaius had instructed his ward to collect.

"And Merlin wasn't there." Arthur concluded keeping his eyes fixed on the satchel.

Gwaine nodded once again and turned away.

"But Arthur…there is something that you have to see, RIGHT now." The knight said so urgently that the Prince's head snapped up to meet his gaze.

Gwaine's expression was passive, but his eyes showed true panic.

The prince nodded and handed the satchel to the nearest knight who would grab it, and that happened to be Kay.

"Come, show me." Arthur said then turned back to mount his horse at the same time Gwaine did.

"Sire?" The newest member to the group spoke up suddenly and approached him.

"Sire, are you sure it's wise to go right now? The sun will have set by the time you cross the river again." The brown haired knight spoke quickly. "We could continue the quest tomorrow."

"I don't think Merlin has until tomorrow, Kay." The blond said, then turned to the rest and spoke quickly. "I need you all to return to Camelot and inform my father that I'll be back later this evening." He said gathering up the reins into his hands. "I'll be back as soon as I can." And before anyone could stop him, the prince quickly spurred his horse after Gwaine who had as soon as he mounted his horse, sped off into the setting sun.

**BLEH! So are you satisfied my children! HoLY CRAP THAT TOOK ME FOREVER! It may not be too long but it took FOREVER! I'm not TOO happy about the ending but whatever…it'll do. SO I hope you guys like it! And I'd like to thank **_-lady-harker_** for her awesome words of encouragement :P Thank you! **

**Thank you all guys! You rock! **

**So I hope you guys totally enjoyed this and tune in next time to see what's up with our heroic warlock! **

**Please Review!**

**DragonGem777**


	6. Cardon

**A/N**

…**heheh…..heh….yeah uh, REALLY sorry about the late update guys, completely NOT my fault. So I had this chapter going perfectly fine and I was like LLALALL until my dang computer died and when I revived it, ALL my work was gone. And then to make matters worse the internet was shut off right after. Yeah, that indeed, is a series of unfortunate events. **

**BUT ANYHOOZEN! **

**So, THANKS for all the reviews people! I really hope your gonna enjoy this chapta! **

"_Echdynnu Amulet…__Magic manipulation" _

_A pendant glinted in the morning sunlight_

_Evil magic radiated off the amulet and Merlin knew he had to stop him…Brutus._

_He lunged and grabbed it, a bright light, then came the pain… it was beyond anything he'd ever felt before. It was too much! He couldn't escape it! _

_Then finally, everything went black._

Merlin jolted out of his reverie to the sound of a loud clang.

The warlock immediately straightened up and quickly banished the drowsiness that had been clouding his mind. He had hardly slept at all, the fact that he couldn't reach his magic sent panic waves throughout his body and he couldn't seem to _not_ think of it. He'd only been able to doze off, but that hardly mattered.

What mattered was that he was finally beginning to _remember. _

It was all making sense now, even though he had only a couple pieces of them put together he was finally beginning to make sense of what had happened.

And with that came the hope that his magic would finally begin to stir.

And it had been. It wasn't fully under his control yet, but he could feel it slowly begin to course through his veins again.

The black haired man eyed the front of his cell as a figure unlocked the door then bowed as he opened it for his master.

The young warlock immediately got to his feet and put on a fierce expression, the adrenaline he had gotten from realizing that his memories and magic were finally responding to him gave him the strength to look his enemy straight in the eye.

It wasn't as easy as it sounded however.

The man that stood in front of him was a vicious looking character.

The tall figure was completely clad in black. From his leather boots to the cloak that draped around his broad shoulders. The sword hung around his waist glinted off the little sunlight that streamed through the cell, symbols that the warlock swore he recognized trailed down the blade. He was an aged man with lots of experience judging by the silver strands that appeared throughout his black beard and hair. An ugly looking scar slashed down the top part of his right cheek and ended at bottom of his upturned lips. His eyes seemed to be black, but that could have been because of the little light in the cell.

The very air around him seemed to ripple with authority and almost seemed to draw out the fear that one usually locked away.

Merlin kept his gaze strong however, and refused to look away for even one second.

This only seemed to amuse the man as his smile broadened.

"Emrys!" The dark haired man finally spoke up loudly almost causing the warlock to jump.

To his relief he didn't. However, the mention of his druid name sent a prickle of alarm and fear running down his spine. Obviously this man knew too much about him already…

"Welcome to my home." The stranger in front of Merlin opened up his arms and gave a short bow, mocking the situation the young warlock was in right now.

Merlin glared at him as he straightened up but that only seemed to amuse him as his eyes lit up once again.

His captor, (as he could only assume) let his smile stretch across his face as he continued with his greeting message.

"I assume you are comfortable? We only offer the best for our guests, especially one as unique as you." Once again the man placed a smirk on his face while he mocked the sorcerer in front of him.

Merlin hardly contained his magic from reacting to his anger; no matter how little of it he was in control of.

Squashing down his intense irritation, he decided it be best if he not continue to feed his amusement with his silence.

"Where am I." He stated firmly "Why am I here, and _who _are you." Merlin demanded a bit surprised at how venomous and confident his voice sounded.

The man in front of him raised his eyebrows at the sudden outburst and let his hand fall on his sword in almost a threatening gesture before answering.

"My name is Lord Cardon, and you will address me only as such." Cardon spoke loudly, immediately losing his mocking appearance.

Cardon took a step forward into the sunlight which lit up the scar on his face too well.

Cold black eyes stared hard into Merlin's bright ones as he continued to speak.

"You have been brought here to my own abode for a single purpose: To train."

Merlin let his eyebrows rise as he waited for further explanation. This wasn't sounding good. Then again what can you expect when you wake up shackled to a cell wall…

"You should be honored boy! You'll be trained by the most powerful sorcerer alive today: Myself. You don't even realize who I am...but soon enough you shall see we have _much _in common. Powerful magic is...a very _large _factor to that."

Cardon waited a few moments as if he was waiting for Merlin to react to his statement.

When he didn't; he continued to speak.

"You will remain here until your training is complete, then I will release you and you will be free to do whatever you wish." The last part of his statement caused a rather evil glint to light up in his eye and Merlin began to feel a small amount of dread begin to crawl up within him.

Shaking it off, the young warlock decided he'd had enough of this evasive game

"You've taken me prisoner to _train _with you? What business does a man have with me that he has to capture me first then demand my cooperation to obey your commands?" The young warlock shifted his stance and felt the weight of the shackles around his feet hold him down.

He glanced down at his bound feet the glared again at Cardon.

"What do you want that I have? I'm Prince Arthur's manservant; I don't think that I have any of the skills that you're looking for…" He said at last and glared one more time at his bound hands.

He knew sword skills or knowledge of Camelot were not what Cardon was looking for however…the fact that he had used his druid name meant that he wanted one thing…He had only said that to get Cardon to say what he wanted. It seemed he liked to draw out the conversation.

Cardon's face immediately lit up at his prisoners oblivious seeming words.

"Emrys, you have something that I, and the world so desperately needs at this moment: Magic."

Apparently Merlin's tactic worked.

"No, you don't just have magic; you possess so much power that you could bring Albion to its knees. And you hardly realize it." Cardon shook his head sadly then shifted his gaze back to the bound man.

Merlin's anger spiked at those words. He thought he didn't know his own magic? Who did this man think he was that he knew more about himself than he did?

Seeing the anger on his face the dark man smirked and continued.

"You have such a greater destiny before that I can help lead you to! You must trust me Emrys, I know what's best for you…I can help lead you to greatness."

"You know _nothing_ of my destiny_." _Merlin snarled.

"Oh, but I do. Isn't it the great dragon who said it was your destiny to see the young Pendragon to the throne? That eventually he would unite the land of Albion and bring magic back to the land? Is that correct?"

The young warlock couldn't stop the shock of those words from rippling through his body.

It was apparent that it showed in his expression when Cardon let a broad smile stretch across his face.

"Yes, Emrys, I know much more about than you think I do. I also know that the destiny you are striving for is not yours. The raw power that you contain within yourself should not be wasted on the foolish words that the dragon said to you! You have so much power…" Cardon's eyes seemed to shift out of focus when he said the last words.

Merlin was beginning to panic. How did this _stranger _know about _his _destiny? Yes, there were prophecies, but none of them mentioned the great dragon speaking to him…

He had to get out of here. His damn magic wasn't strong enough yet! He could hardly break the simple bonds he was clad in. He knew _exactly _where this was going, and he refused to let a power hungry sorcerer try to take control of him again. Cornelius Siegen had been enough.

Cardon snapped back to reality then continued his speech.

"Emrys, your destiny is indeed to unite the land of Albion, but not under the young Pendragon's rule…"

Cardon eyed Merlin waiting to see his reaction.

Merlin, at this time, was fighting down the anger and panic rising up beneath him and he was having a hard time focusing.

No this wasn't happening again.

"By who then." Merlin finally said after a few moments. He was relieved that his voice came out sounding strong rather than shaky.

"Ours."

Even though the young warlock could have mouthed the words Cardon said, he still couldn't help the intense amount of anger that spiked in him once again. Why did EVERYONE think he wanted that power!

"Your destiny is not to see Arthur Pendragon to the throne, but to yourself to it."

"Camelot is not mine to take!" Merlin shouted fiercely and tried to take a step forward but once again the shackles restricted his movement.

Cardon laughed at his attempt and statement and continued on with a twisted smile set on his face.

"Yes it is! And you will take it; you will kill Arthur Pendragon and take the throne for yourself."

That was it.

Merlin nearly doubled from the amount of magic that suddenly burst forth from within himself.

"_**NO**_!" He shouted and released the magic that was raging through his body as it responded to his boiling anger.

Cardon's expression morphed into one of panic just before the intense wave of magic hit him full force and sent him flying backwards into the cell bars. His head connected forcefully with the metal bars and didn't stir.

Merlin didn't waste one second.

"_áberstan!" _He whispered frantically to the shackles around his hands and feet. Immediately they unlocked and the warlock bolted full speed towards the cell door which he quickly blasted out, sending the cell guard to the ground, crushed underneath the cell door's weight.

The servant quickly dashed out of the cell and was just about to bolt in the direction of the stairs when suddenly he felt a familiar pain rip through his body.

Merlin screamed in torment and doubled over; he clutched his torso before his knees crashed to the ground.

One hand on the floor supporting him and one hand clutching his stomach, the warlock hardly contained the tears of pain from spilling over.

A pair of leather boots entered his vision and suddenly the torture hat was tearing through his body intensified earning another shout of pain from the warlock as his hand gave out and he crashed to the ground unable to do anything except wait. Moving only seemed to create more pain.

A face suddenly came into view as the owner of the black boots squatted down next to him.

Cardon.

The old sorcerer had a trickle of blood trailing down his face and his expression was anything but pleased.

The pain coursed through his body harder when suddenly a very familiar pendant came into view. The amulet shone brightly with a sickly green light as its power reacted fervently to the intense amount of magic it was controlling.

"I'm not as unprepared as you'd think Emrys…" The sorcerer sneered.

"_álynian." _

The second Cardon spoke those words the light on the amulet died along with the fierce pain that had been coursing through Merlin's body.

He couldn't even think of moving, his body was still convulsing with the pain that it had dealt with, and keeping himself conscious was proving itself to be a challenge.

Cheek pressed against the cool ground and he stared up at the sorcerer before him. His hands clenched and unclenched as the convulsions racked his body.

Cardon shook his head and put the amulet in his pocket. A drop of blood dripped onto the floor as he tucked it away.

"Brutus was right about you. You're a fighter…You'll do well for me." The dark haired man nodded to himself.

The only thing Merlin could do was focus on breathing and squeeze his eyes shut from the bit of pain that movement provided.

Suddenly he felt a cold hand press itself against his forehead. He knew exactly what was going to happen next, but there was little to nothing he could do to stop it.

"_swefecung." _

A blanket of darkness covered his mind as the sleep spell started to take over his body.

…_Emrys…I'm coming…_

And he knew no more.

**Sooooo what did you guys think? Kinda whummppp? Don't worry there's more where that came from! Haha and we'll be checking up on Arthur and his gang really soon...and we'll find out what they found! Anyone have any guesses? Go ahead and guess! So I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Next one should be up either earlier or usual time. I kinda wanna get the next one up soon, so maybe it'll be an earlier update :P haha! **

**Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading!**

**Please review! **

**DragonGem777**


	7. Discoveries on Both Sides

**Holy…Moses…yap it's definitely been a while don't you think guys? And this time, I actually do NOT have a good excuse but to say that I have had no time. Pure and simple: I just have had NO time to write.**

**So sorry to say, so that I don't break another promise, I'm going to say that my updates will be whenever I have the time to write and update. SO SORRY but my life is just far too busy to update every week :( It makes me just as sad as you! Or hopefully you! **

**But anyhoozen, here's the next chapter. Finally, we will be getting somewhere lol.**

**Enjoy my little children! :D**

The blond prince leaned down and grabbed a handful of newly turned up dirt and rubbed it between his fingers.

Judging by the powder-form the dirt was in, it was easy to tell that this had happened recently, it couldn't have been more than two days old. The dirt would have melded by then, due to animals or morning dew.

The sun was nearly completely set behind the mountains, and the little bit of orange light that was still there seemed to shine directly on one of the most bewildering sights Arthur had ever seen.

When Gwaine had brought them to the area where Merlin's satchel had been found, the young Pendragon expected nearly ANYTHING but this.

The picture before him stole his breath away and he barely remembered that he needed to blink to see.

Before him was a perfect circle of bare ground. The trees that must have been there had been completely torn from the ground and blown into nearby vegetation that, therefore, torn them from their roots and created a very large mess of green and brown. Leaves from fallen trees had been thrusted up into the air and seemed not even ONE landed in the perfect circle of bare dirt. Thick vegetation surrounded it, it must have taken something with power beyond the prince could even imagine to have done this. Everything in the circle was gone. There was nothing but powdery dirt. Except one thing that Arthur had been inspecting at this very moment.

In the soil there were prints. It seemed that the dirt that was dispersed on all sides seemed and it almost took the form of a figure. The dirt had been dragged out a little ways then stopped, indicating the person had been dragged along the ground before…something… Next to it, footprints were easily detectable, judging by how far they sunk into the dirt, the man was heavy, by weight or fat, Arthur could not depict. Next to it, horse prints marked into the dirt and lead away from the circle and deep into the forest.

Recollecting himself, the young prince let the brown dirt fall from his hands, stood up and scanned the darkening forest for his companion.

Gwaine had looked- and relooked about seven times in the area where Merlin's satchel had been found and there was nothing. Not even a drop of _blood…_except in the area where Arthur had found the print. Where the head must have been, a little blood had soaked into the dirt. It was hard to imagine one wouldn't find something else other than his satchel from an area where it had been torn apart by- hell knows what.

They had searched every part of the area going out nearly three miles from the circle just to be sure that nothing escaped them…Gwaine refused to give up however, and was once again scanning the same area for the eighth time.

The prince sighed and straightened up wiping away the access dirt off his hands and circled the area where the figure had been laying.

There was nothing that he could think of that could explain this- maybe magic- but that always seemed to be the conclusion that he drew to every unexplainable situation. So instead, this time he was going to search and SEARCH before he accused magic once again of committing an unimaginable feat.

Shaking his head, Arthur turned his head toward the setting sun and quenched down the butterflies in his stomach that arose when he thought about his servant.

Merlin had been here…MERLIN had been _here. _In THIS area. What…was the question, had _happened? _There was NO sign of him whatsoever, and Arthur refused to think that the imprint in the dirt had belonged to him…it couldn't have been. Something else..._someone _else. Just not him.

It was clear the figure that had made the imprint in the dirt had been taken. Either by an ally or a foe Arthur wouldn't be able to decipher, but it was plain as day that someone had found that person and taken him…into the forest.

Rubbing his head in frustration, Arthur once again scanned the forest for Gwaine- this time seeing his form move among the area where the evidence of Merlin had been found.

"Gwaine!" The prince called immediately receiving a response by the jump that he saw him give.

Arthur saw him shake his head before jumping out of the debris of trees and other vegetation.

The blond man raised his eyebrows waiting for a report on what he found and received the answer he'd been expecting.

Gwaine's hair swished one last time as he finished shaking his head and his gaze turned toward the darker part of the forest where the prints lead off.

"I have…no words." The dark haired knight spoke and locked gazes with the prince.

"Well, that's a first." Arthur huffed and let his gaze drift away towards the now vanished sun.

A few moments of intense thinking passed between them until Arthur finally started to make his way towards the horses.

The footsteps behind him let him know that Gwaine had followed him. The prince couldn't stop the enormous amount of uneasiness from welling up inside of him when he saw the circle of bare dirt from a higher point of view once he mounted his steed.

"Arthur…Merlin's been taken hasn't he. The print on the dirt, I saw you looking at it. It belongs to him doesn't it." The brotherly knight turned to look at his prince and saw the complete uncertainty in his eyes burn a bit brighter.

Arthur sniffed and gathered up the reins in his hands and then turned to face him.

"I don't know Gwaine, we can't be sure of anything until we have solid proof. But…I believe if we follow those tracks…we might find something – or someone."

Gwaine nodded and urged his horse into a steady walk to that he was side by side with the prince.

"Tomorrow we'll continue our search." The Pendragon sated firmly earning a confused glance from his comrade.

"Are you sure? You don't think your father will object?" Gwaine question and began to turn his horse around towards the path that Merlin must have taken to get here.

"A good day's hunt never spiked his interest much." The prince said with a slight gleam in his eye.

Before Gwaine could muster out a quick remark, the royal had spurred his horse towards the city of Camelot.

* * *

><p>When the young warlock finally managed to crack his eyes open, all he wanted to do was close them again and sleep when he realized the torment he'd gone through hadn't been just a terrible dream.<p>

His muscles still ached from the pain they had endured seemingly only moments ago.

The memory of the amulet sent trills of fear trailing down his spine. What kind of magic enabled one to have that amount of power? He certainly didn't know. All he knew was that he had to stay as far away from it as possible.

Taking a deep breath, the warlock decided it was time to stand up, but realized very shortly that he wasn't able to. Manacles around his hands and feet only allowed a short amount of movement, and definitely restricted his ability even to sit up.

The warlock hadn't even realized how cold we was until he put the flat of his hand against the cold marble beneath him. The manacles around his wrists and ankles where bolted into the hard mineral and he wasn't allowed even an inch of room to move.

Naturally, the warlock immediately tested its strength by tugging on the cold metal, and then quickly reached for his magic: problem was, he couldn't seem to grasp it. Every time he tried, it felt like he had just run a marathon from the amount of effort it took to reach even a tiny amount.

After a couple more attempts, he finally concluded that if he tried any more he might end up passing out.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, he let his gaze roam around the nearly pitch black room for a bit until he realized that he was in the center of the chamber on a smooth marble table.

Around him, the walls seemed to sparkle with smooth glittering gems. The room, he realized, was made of granite stone…and round…strange. Above him, the room was fitted with a flat ceiling which seemed to be made of the same material as the walls. A window as it appeared to be, was directly above him. If there were stars, he would have seen them, and obviously if it was day time the sun would shine through. But perhaps it was latched. He couldn't be sure. The floor was laid with smooth granite stone that looked as clear as glass unlike the walls around it.

A very strange room indeed. He didn't remember moving-

Cardon.

The sorcerer's name popped randomly into his head and he nearly flinched by even the thought.

Where was he?

The last time - _Oh_

And as if on cue, the door to the dungeon door creaked open, letting in a flood of light that filled every corner of the chamber.

In the entrance, a figure obscure by the light stood and slowly began to take very deliberate steps towards him.

For a moment, the light streaming through the door reminded him of his dream and a quick flash back of that memory spirited through his mind, but left as quickly as it came. That, however, gave him a bit of confidence.

Merlin waited with growing anticipation as Cardon slowly approached him.

"I must say Emrys, I indeed underestimated your strength and skill with magic." The dark figure's dark voice rang through the chamber as he slowly started to make his way towards the head of the table.

"However," He crooned. "Mistakes are easily corrected once they've been made."

"Whatever you're going to do with me," Merlin began, "I will never betray Camelot." He rasped with his unused voice.

Cardon smirked and began to fiddle with his right glove.

"Emrys, you clearly don't understand. This world _needs _people like you and me to cleanse it. The only falter is…you haven't grasped your responsibility yet. The magic you hold has so much potential. So MUCH that you could accomplish you simply let slip away without a second thought."

Merlin glared icily at the black haired man circling him like some prize possession.

He'd heard this before, and more than ever one thought coursed through his mind: He had to get out.

Once again he tried to use his magic to destroy the bonds around his chained feet and hands, but once again, the feeling of overwhelming tiredness and complete defeat shrouded him.

His magic was useless…

"Your magic…is just not as powerful as it could be. It's untrained…the power you hold has not been tamed. We must train it to a more powerful magic, then master it." The sorcerer continued on with his speech.

Merlin's eyes widened and the crude and so boldly said statement. His anger flared until he felt the heat rush to his face. "You're saying that my magic is _untrained? _That I can't _handle _it?" Cardon had made it clear that he was powerful, but saying that he couldn't handle his OWN magic was going beyond the lines of an insult. Magic was the one skill that he had mastered without flaw, Cardon saying that it was out of control nearly made Merlin's blood boil with rage.

"Yes, Emrys," He said matter-a-factly. Like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You don't possess the power or self-control within yourself to maintain the amount of magic in you. We must train it...The Black magic of the old religion can guide you there…"

Merlin swore that if he had been out of his bonds he would have kicked the man for the amount of times he said _train_.

"Let me out of these bonds and I'll show you just how _trained _my magic _really_ is…" Merlin snarled. He couldn't explain it; though he should fear this man, all he could feel was loathing and anger towards him. How DARE he say that.

Cardon made a clucking sound like he was shunning a small child. "So disrespectful," He said waving a finger in the young warlock's face.

"That we'll fix as well. But all in due time." He smiled at the young man in front of him and Merlin gave him his fiercest glare yet.

Merlin didn't think he'd ever been more insulted.

Cardon simply laughed. A deep throaty laugh that seemed to echo throughout the room.

"Now, Emrys, now is the time we begin your training."

A spike of fear shot down Merlin's spine as the meaning of the words sunk in.

More than ever he began to desperately reach for his magic…it still wouldn't respond, it's like it had been contained in a small jar within himself and he simply couldn't access it.

The young warlock watched with an amount of terror coursing through him as the other sorcerer in front of him bent down and placed two hands on each side of Merlin's temples then closed his eyes.

Before the warlock could even think about shaking him off, Cardon's eyes flashed open and a deep auburn gold filled his irises.

The minute they did, Merlin's eyes grew wide as his mind and body completely stilled, and the only thought, or image that filled his mind was the deep swirling gold of Cardon's eyes.

"_Becuman __æt þæt deop eower ferð_…_drýcræft" _

The soft crooning of the ancient words sang to Merlin's magic like a lullaby…gentle…and innocent.

"_Becuman __æt þæt deop eower ferð_ _drýcræft"_

Slowly, the young warlock felt his defensive walls begin to dissolve and his magic begin to draw out from within his very depths to answer the call of the ancient words.

"_Come…come…" _The words sang over and over.

All Merlin wanted to do was following the directions that the spell gave, let his magic swirl to the surface and confront the spell that sang to him…however, the minute the warlock let his mind drift to what was waiting at the surface, he felt at first the beauty and warmth of the spell, but after…what awaited him seemed to be a black cloud of ice…

Black magic. That's what awaited him.

It was a spell! A decoy to summon his magic and entangle it within the black magic Cardon had mentioned…

"_Becuman __æt þæt deop eower ferð_ _drýcræft…"_

"…no…" The word came out sounding strangled and seemed to come from nowhere. Had he said that?

The magic within Merlin responded almost immediately to the warlock's resistance.

The blue swirl of his own magic seemed to shrink away from the surface once his master commanded it. It slowly began to crawl back behind the barriers that the warlock had built to restrain it when he didn't let it lash out.

"_Becuman __æt þæt deop eower ferð_ _drýcræft!" _

Once the spell had turned into a command, all of Merlin's barriers nearly collapsed as his magic rammed into them to try and get to the warmth of the surface.

However, the young warlock fought and the walls remained.

The spell repeated itself over and over again and each time Merlin nearly lost control as his magic frantically tried to answer the call of the enchantment.

Just when Merlin felt he could no longer hold off the might of his own magic, the deep gold image that had blocked out every inch of his mind suddenly withdrew.

Merlin gasped as his mind and body became his own again and an image rather than the piercing gold surrounded him.

The warlock was barely retaining consciousness. How long had they been here? It was impossible to tell considering there wasn't even one window in the room.

The young sorcerer's eyes flitted open and shut as the overwhelming demand of sleep overpowered every other thought.

Cardon's figure straightened up beside him, the older man had a look of complete disgust on his face when he glanced down at the other man in front of him. He too, looked like he had suffered from a long fight. Though not nearly as bad Merlin had.

"Well, Emrys…it seems as though the easy way was never the right approach…" He managed to say after a few deep breaths.

Merlin's eyes drifted away from Cardon and onto a random point on the ceiling…though the ceiling was hardly what he was seeing. His panting seemed to be the only noise in the room at that point.

His body was trembling from the effort of holding off the other magic and once again he nearly let his eyes close from the irresistible call of sleep.

"We'll try again tomorrow…however, this time; it will not be as pleasant." He snarled then promptly shoved his cape behind his back and walked towards the entrance of the bare chamber.

With a loud _slam _the door to the room shut; once again leaving the warlock bound in chains and shrouded in complete darkness.

**Weeeellll, what'ja think? so first part completed with training and such. Now on to...more painful matters hehehe. Well I hope you enjoyed it and stuff so yeah, oh yeah. And those who read my _Words and Warlocks _The bit with that i used for that I altered a bit to fit how i want the story to go...hehe JUST in case you didn't notice. lol. just sayin'!**

**Alright well, again i hope you enjoyed and hopefully I'll see you sooner than the last time...eheheh...ugh. Okay! Until next time!**

**Please review!**

**DragonGem777**


	8. Shattered

**A/N**

**Yup. Here we go agaaaiinnn! Yup Chapta eight people. Mmmhmmm. So thanks for all the reviews! Apparently a lot of people enjoyed the last chapter and hopefully a lot of people will enjoy this one! :P Alright:**

**HERE WE GO! **

**Enjoy!**

Arthur and the knights got lost and Merlin blew up Cardon.

The end.

**GOTCHA! AWWW! Come on guys I'm just kidding, REALLY I'm not that dense…or boring. HAHAH I just needed a big laugh cuz of how serious this story is getting EHEM! ANYWAY! Sorry this was totally my sister's idea…Okay AND mine…I was busy writing a sequel to **_**Typically**_** and I was having a bit of a hard time taking things seriously lol.! Okay ANYWAY HERE'S Chapter eight LOL **

**Alright seriously, enjoy :P **

Pain.

Pain.

Pain.

And more pain.

There was not one word or any other thought in the warlock's head besides retaining his magic and the intense amount of excruciating pain that coursed through his body seemingly every second.

This had been going on for days. Or weeks? Maybe even months? All sense of time had completely lost its way inside the warlock, but he was sure this had been going on for at least three days nonstop.

"Release your magic Emrys, that's all you have to do and the pain will stop." Merlin once again squeezed his eyes harder shut and sucked in a few painful breaths of air. The shackles that he hung from seemed to bite harder into his raw flesh with every shaky breath of air that the warlock inhaled. He felt the warm liquid that couldn't be anything else besides his own blood trickle down his arms and onto his bare chest.

Fire ripped through his body and his mind could hardly comprehend what was happening.

Where was he? Who was he? Who was talking? What had they said? Why didn't the pain stop?

What was the reason for the pain again?

"Emrys! Let your magic go!"

Oh yes, magic right…he needed to keep his magic retained.

…But why?

"…no…" A choked response almost seemed to echo in the dark room as the warlock rasped the rebellious word even though he hardly knew the reason why he resisted.

The young warlock's eyes fluttered open for a single moment and he barely gazed upon the dark dungeon surroundings and the infuriated expression of Cardon in front of him.

Cardon oh yes that's who he wa-

Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck Merlin's mind as the hand that belonged to Cardon placed itself upon the boy's forehead.

Merlin wouldn't have realized he was screaming if he hadn't felt his throat burn from the effort of the act.

The torment that followed the probe was beyond anything Merlin had ever felt before. It dug its way into his mind and sought to dig and rip apart everything that made the warlock who he was. If Merlin hadn't resisted, it probably would have torn out his entire being. What it really searched for however, was not for his being. It was for his magic.

The probe dug deeper and deeper and with each pulse that powered its way in the pain increased and each time the warlock felt his defenses around his magic slip.

"This was never going to be easy, was it Emrys? This will be my last attempt…and your last resistance."

The words Cardon said had hardly had time to sink in when suddenly, a terribly powerful pulse seemed to slam against the walls that gave way with a frightening crack. At that horrifying moment, Merlin felt that his magic was finally going to be breached.

The young warlock tasted blood as the scream that tore out of the warlock's throat increased another notch when the probe's power flared to an unbearably high amount of pain.

Merlin felt the tears of shame and pain roll down his face. He had failed, in a single moment; he was going to be lost; his magic taken over.

The warlock hardly had time to even think of the words "I'm sorry." To whom he was apologizing to: he, Camelot, or Arthur the warlock couldn't decipher, for at that moment, any hope for the three died.

The black magic stuck one last time and his walls shattered.

* * *

><p>Aithusa cocked his head as a very peculiar sensation washed over the little dragon's body.<p>

The little white beast had been busy hunting when the sense caught him by surprise. The dark of the night obscured the dragon's vision as he gazed up into the starlit sky and looked for what possibly could be wrong.

Yes. Wrong. Something was wrong. He recognized the presence of the sense.

It was Emrys. His master. His friend.

But it wasn't the same as it had been the few times he had answered the call of his dragonlord. Instead of excitement or anticipation, the sense was horrified, angry and almost mad with pain.

The little dragon didn't like it and he immediately abandoned the little squirrel that he had been hunting and quickly took a running start and jumped up into the air, and with a mighty flap of his wings he was airborne.

For a moment the waning gibbous moon shone brighter upon the white dragon's back as the sensation suddenly flared and the direction where it was coming from became pristinely clear.

The sense was strong throughout the land and even the current that twisted throughout the air seemed to be heading in the direction that the presence was.

So, instead of trying to trust his own sense to the sense of nature, he might as well use what the land provided, jump into the sky, and take to the wind.

* * *

><p>Fire and ice.<p>

The ice had doused the fire that protected him. The fire died and he was vulnerable. The ice knew this and immediately it started to seep deep into his magic. It began to turn the blue into black – freeze it over. Take it over.

He was lost. Forever and he couldn't fight. His last defense had been doused by the ice magic that now extinguished the pure magic that made him who he was.

The black magic had won.

He could feel its icy touch take control of his being, his magic…his mind. He couldn't do anything but feel as the magic froze over who he was.

Everything was lost…

Just as he felt that he wouldn't be able to even recognize who he was as the ice took over, the most spectacular warmth blossomed so suddenly into his mind that he felt his body jerk in response.

Fire!

There was fire! It started in the back of in his mind and quickly seeped up into the surface where the ice had started to freeze over the blue magic.

The brilliant gold light propelled its stifling warmth into the ice magic which recoiled as if it had been burned.

The black magic seemed to scream as the gold tore its way through the ice and quickly diminished the ice that had settled on his own magic. The gold magic seemed to roar at the black magic and it screeched in response and quickly fled from the warlocks mind.

The second the black magic's tendrils had left his magic, a brilliant golden wall replaced the shattered one and Merlin felt confident that nothing could ever penetrate this shield.

Merlin's magic swirled and entwined itself with the gold magic and before the warlock even knew it, the golden light had taken on a form.

"_Emrys…don't lose faith." _The comforting voice of a woman rang clear like a bell throughout Merlin's mind and the figure now was undoubtedly a woman's form._ "I cannot complete this feat again. What Cardon will do next is something I cannot stop…and neither can you." _The warlock felt his hope sink as the meaning became unbearably clear.

"_However," _She continued as the red and gold swirled and twirled around her. "_If you hold on as long as you can, we may be able to save you," _The woman's golden form suddenly flared and then died down.

"_I must go Emrys…please…stay strong, we are coming." _

And just as suddenly as she had come, she had gone.

Merlin's eyes flew open and he coughed harshly as the dust from the air infiltrated his lungs as he sucked in the much needed oxygen.

He was weak…so weak.

The only thing that Merlin saw before the darkness of unconsciousness took over his mind was the swish of Cardon's cape as he flew out of the dungeon cell and the tiny amount of light that seeped its way into the room quickly diminished as the door slammed shut.

The last thing that flitted through the warlock's mind before he let darkness take him was one thought.

Someone had saved him:

They were the ones from his dreams:

And they were coming to save him.

**Good Lord…that was short but took A FREAKING LONG TIME TO WRITE! And I'm STILL not overly impressed with the ending -_- rrgg oh well I hope you enjoyed it anyway. Now that this is out of the way…NEXT CHAPTA IS THE CLIMAX PEOPLE! And OOHH boy are you in for a surprise. I can GARUNTEE you this will NOT be ANYTHING that you are expecting to happen. So if you have any guesses lemme know and if you're close I'll tell ya :P I'll post whoever was closest next chapter hahaha. **

**YES IM SO EXCITED! EEEKK I'll get the next one up ASAP because literally I'm just excited to get that one up as much as you guys are! (hopefully that's a lot… *awkward silence*) Ehem but YES! I hope you guys had a Merry Christmas btw! And how about that finale eh? Pretty good huh? :P hahah ALLRRIIIGHHHTTTT! That's about it. So I'll see you next time!**

**DragonGem777**


	9. AUTHOR UPDATE

**Hey people!**

**Alright, I know it's been absolutely FOREVER since I've even graced fanfiction's presence, but alas, here I am! Ummm, so yeah this is a quick little update/insight on what I've been doing and what I'm planning for this story…**

**Okay, so I know it was completely cruel of me to leave you off at a point like that, I know, but trust me, I didn't intend to! Life suddenly just showered me with a million and ten things that I had to get done, seriously, I haven't had time to BREATHE. I work a ton and yadda yadda yadda, you don't want to hear about that…you just want to know about the story…so lemme get on with that. **

**Okay, so here's the dealio. I want to finish this story, but I'm not quite sure if I will…the idea is kind of vague for me, and actually I've had just a huge lack of inspiration, especially concerning the fact that my fandoms and obsessions have changed. I still love Merlin, it's just that I haven't really seen a lot of it in a while, and I've been following other things. However, Merlin season 5 is yet to come! So hopefully that'll spark up some of the flame that's pretty low on fuel…so yeah. Haha!**

**Ummm. No idea when I'll get the next chapter up. Sorry, but hopefully it'll be around the time season 5 starts to blossom and I'll actually have time to focus more on MERLIN rather than other stuff. So yeah, that's pretty much what I got. **_**Words and Warlocks**_** I'm trying to get a few chapters in here and there, but it won't be as frequent as it was before. **

**Yup. **

**Alright! So sorry guys! But life is life! I'll see what I can do, but until then! Au revoir! Any questions you have feel free to ask! I'm totally open to answering anything you have questions to. Just send me a review or message. I'll totally check them all :) Alright! Until next time my children! **

**-DragonGem777**


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